pro-russian forces. journalists were detained when they got too close to the fight but released shortly afterwards. joining me for our big journalist panel, chris sill list saturd cillizza and kristen welker and bob shrum. there's a lot to talk about at the white house. there's been a big divide despite what the white house says between merkel and rest of europe on how tough to be against vladimir putin. there's talk the incremental sanctions have not been working and the other issues, the confusion and disagreements over intelligence and eavesdropping that still have yet to be resolved. kristen? >> reporter: right, a lot to talk about today, andrea, but certainly the key issue we'll be talking about is ukraine and sanctions that you mentioned.

president obama and the white house have been pushing european allies to enact stiffer sanctions, sanctions on the various sectors of russia's economy, the mining sector and believes that would have a bigger bite than sanctions implemented so far which largely target individuals. russia has been hesitant to move forward with stiffer sanctions because they are far more dependent on russia for things like oil than the united states is. so that is where the divide comes in. president obama has said he doesn't want to move forward without his european allies because he wants to present a united front to russia. the u.s. calculation being that that is far stronger than if the u.s. were to move forward unilaterally with those sectoral sanctions but germany is the linchpin here. so president obama will be trying to do some arm twisting. as you say, another issue that might come up the nsa, the two leaders could discuss the fact

that german chancellor merkel was quite upset by the revelations that her cell phone had been happened. but the issue of ukraine will overshadow all of the other issues. >> and jean cummings, you've covered economics in the business world for so many years and you've got bp and bsaf and deutsche bank and these other global companies, german and british companies really considering bp with heavy investments in russia. pressuring the leaders, cameron, merkel and hollande, the big three. >> there's a fair amount of tension there and germany is -- their biggest trading partner is russia. there are big stakes for germany in these negotiations however it is also important that the world show a united front. and merkel has talked about the need to come together in europe

and to agree upon what -- how to proceed. and she is tougher than many of the others. and she has to bring them along with her to then align with the united states. it's very easy for the united states to impose these things because we aren't as deeply as invested. in addition to sanctions when you look at the corporate community, the white house is also pressuring businesses to boycott an international economic summit in st. petersburg that president putin would hope to be a show case of russia in international events and having good success. goldman sachs is not going and morgan stanley isn't going, pepsi and alcoa isn't going. so the white house is applying pressure in that regard as well. >> chris cillizza, every time the president is speaking about foreign policy, it's not helping him domestically, politically, according to his own advisers but he can't escape it. the crisis in ukraine shows a

real divide. our own poll shows people want a strong leader and fault him on foreign policy and conduct of foreign policy but did not want the u.s. to be more engaged in the world. they want him to pay attention to the home front. >> i thought that the most striking thing out of that nbc wall street journal poll released earlier this week was the number of people -- the question was asked, do you think the united states should be more active or roughly equally active in terms of involvement in world affairs. the less active number quadrupled since 2001. i think that's telling and it makes frankly -- it doesn't matter where the president is a democrat or republican or neither party, it would make it -- it's very difficult to govern, particularly in foreign policy when that's how the american public feels. the wars in iraq and afghanistan have worn the public down. both republicans and democrats as well as independents worn the

country down to sort of our involvement in these foreign conflicts and it's from a policy perspective and political perspective, there's absolutely cross current. it's very difficult. >> bob shrum, as we watch the rose garden, you see the advisers coming up so the bigger meeting has ended. they are probably figuring out how to coordinate their messaging. >> i think that's right. i think the president has done about as good a job as you can possibly do. not using force, american presidents going back to eisenhower and hundrgary, jean right about the necessity of a united front. if we unilateral move the europeans continue to maintain the same relationships, the sanctions aren't going to be effective. you'll penalize american businesses. i think the one thing that would change the balance of pressure

here and get you to more robust sanctions would be if putin actually sends troops into eastern ukraine. >> that is in fact what jack lew suggested in my interview last week. they wanted to hold something back, these big broad sanctions in case there is a military move. one question that comes to mind is hasn't russia taken effective control over eastern ukraine already? they've already acknowledged to the kiev document they no longer control the donetsk region. >> but they are apparently trying to move in an assertive degree of control. the bright line would be sending troops in. the crimea was a historical action because krugs chef gave it and suddenly you have crimea and i was there with karl rove of all people. and we walked down -- >> and bob, russian flags

everywhere. >> on that note we see angela merkel and the president walking to the microphones, she'll be speaking in german. we will have a translation from the white house. the president. >> good morning, everybody. it is always a great pleasure to welcome my friend chancellor merkel to the white house. germany is one of our strongest allies and angela is one my closest partners. i want to make two brief comments. first, as president, my top priority is doing everything that we can to create more jobs and opportunity for hard working families for our economic strength as a source of strength in the world. this morning we learned our businesses created 273,000 new jobs last month, all tolled our businesses have now created 9.2 million new jobs over 50 consecutive months of job growth. the grit and determination of

the american people are moving us forward but we have to keep a relentless focus on job creation and creating more opportunities for working families. there's plenty more that congress should be doing from raising the minimum wage to creating good construction jobs and rebuilding america. and i want to work with them wherever i can but i keep acting on my own wherever i must to make sure every american who works hard has the chance to get ahead. second point, i also want to say on behalf of the american people that our thoughts are with the people of afghanistan who have experienced an awful tragedy. we are seeing reports of a devastating landslide on top of recent floods. many people are reported missing and rescue efforts are underway just as the united states has stood with the people of afghanistan through a difficult decade, we stand ready to help our afghan partners as they

respond to this disaster for even as our war there comes to an end this year, the commitment to afghanistan and its people will endure. now, angela, i'm still grateful for the hospitality that you and the german people extended to me and michelle and our daughters last year in berlin. it was an honor to speak at the gate. and you delivered a unbelievable 90 degree day in berlin. this morning our work touched on a range of issues where the united states and germany are vital partners. we agreed to continue the close security cooperation including law enforcement cyber and intelligence that keeps our citizens safe and reaffirmed our strong commitment to completing the ttp in both the united

states and europe. we discussed energy security, including the importance of europe diversifying its energy sources. the united states has already approved licenses for natural gas exports which will increase global supply and benefit partners like europe. it would make it even easier to get licenses to export gas to europe. at our working lunch, we'll review our negotiations with iran and our shared determination to prevent iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and discuss syria where we continue to support the moderate opposition and provide humanitarian relief to the syrian people. i look forward to briefing angela on my trip to asia, a region where both of our nations can ensure that all countries in the asia pacific adhere to international law and norms. most of our time was spent on the situation in ukraine. angela, i want to thank you for being such a strong partner on this issue. you've spoken out forcefully against russia's illegal actions in ukraine and you've been a

leader in the european union as well as an indispensable partner in the g-7. your presence is a reminder that the nations stant united. including through coordinated sanctions. we're united on our unwavering article five commitment to the security of our nature allies including german aircraft joining nato patrols over the baltics and the very important imf program approved to help ukraine stabilize and reform its economy. as ukrainian forces move to restore order in eastern ukraine, it is obvious to the world that these russian backed groups are not peaceful protesters. they are heavily armed militants receiving significant report from russia. the ukrainian government has the right and responsibility to uphold law and order within its territory and russia needs to

use its influence over these fair of military groups so they disarm and stop provoking violence. let me say we're also united in our outrage over the appalling treatment of the osce observers. pro-russian militants are still holding seven observers, including four germans as well as their ukrainian escorts and paraded in front of the media and forced to make statements at the barrel of a gun. it is disgraceful and inexcusable. russia needs to work to secure their immediate release and international community won't be satisfied until colonel schneider and fellow captives come home. finally, as both angela and i have repeatedly said, we want to see a diplomatic resolution to the situation in ukraine. but we've also been clear if the russian leadership does not change course it will face increasing costs as well as growing isolation.

diplomatic and economic. already the ruble has fallen to near all-time lows and russian stocks have dropped sharply and russia slipped into recession. investors are fleeing and it's estimated $100 billion in investment will exit russia this year. russian companies are finding it harder to access the capital they need and russia's credit rating has been downgraded to just above junk status. in short, russia's actions in ukraine are making an already weak russian economy even weaker. moreover, if russia continues on its current course, we have a range of tools ats our disposal, including sanctions that would target certain sectors of the russian economy. we've been consulting closely with you're european and g-7 partners and stepping up our planning. angela and i continued these consultations today. the russian leadership must know if it continues to destabilize eastern ukraine and disrupt this month's presidential election, we will move quickly on additional steps including further sanctions that will

impose greater cost. but that is a choice facing the russian leadership. our preference is a diplomatic resolution to the issue and ukrainian government has shown itself more than willing to work through some of the issues that would ensure that the rights of all ukrainians are respected and that you have a representative government and they've shown themselves willing to discuss amendments to their constitution, the power to a local level. they have gone through with their commitment to potentially provide amnesty for those who lay down arms and willing to abandon the buildings they've occupied. the ukrainian government in kiev followed through on the commitments it made in geneva. we need russians to do the same. so angela, i want to thank you again for being here. and as always for your friendship and partnership. these are challenging times. russia's actions in ukraine pose a direct challenge to the goal

that brought europe and united states together for decades a. a europe that is whole, free and at peace. just as our predecessors stood united of that vision, so will we. chancellor merkel. >> translator: well, thank you very much, barack, for this gracious hospitality and this very warm welcome that you courted to me. i'm very glad to be able to be back in washington and to have an opportunity to address all of these different issues with you. i think priority really is on the current issue of ukraine and that loom very large on our agenda. it showed how important the trans atlantic partnership is also in today's times. i think it's a good thing that all of the steps that we've taken so far we've taken together and today in our talk we again underline that we fully intend to go ahead as we did in the past.

what happened on ukraine, what happened on the crimean peninsula? the post cold war order has been put in -- territorial integrity by all. this is why it was so important for us to react in concord. and what is at stake here is that people in ukraine can act on the basis of self-determination and can determine themselves which road they wish to embark on in the future. the 25th of may is very crucial date in order to ensure that and we will see to it elections can take place. playing a central role in all of this. we talked about this and together the osce we should do everything we can to bring russia to do the necessary steps so the 25th of may bringing about progress and stabilizing

ukraine. the 25th of may is not all that far away. should that not be possible to stabilize the situation further, further sanctions will be unavoidable. this is something we don't want. we have made a diplomatic offer and offer for diplomatic solution so it's very much up to the russians which road we'll embark on but we're firmly resolved to continue down that road. now, secondly, we addressed issues that have a bearing on the work of the intelligence services here. let me underline yet again for the german side, we have always enjoyed a close cooperation with our american partner on this front and anyone in political responsibility is more than aware looking at the challenges of the modern world today. in fighting terrorism, the work of the intelligence services is not only important but it is indeed indispensable. i'm firmly convinced our

cooperation in this area is a helpful one and yet there are differences of opinion on what sort of balance to strike between the intensity of surv l surveillance of trying to protect citizens of threats and on the other hand protecting individual privacy and freedom and rights of personality. that will require further discussion between our two countries in order to overcome these differences of opinion. we have these discussions incidentally also on pt european front. we're talking about safe harbor agreement, for example, about a privacy protection agreement and i take back the message home that the u.s. is ready to do that, ready to discuss this, although we may have differences of opinion on certain issues. thirdly, ttp, also in the context of diverse fiction of

our energy supply, this is a very important issue it will be very important for us to bring the negotiations very quickly to close. we are fully convinced on the european union for germany and united states, this offers a lot of opportunities for the future and it's so important for us to bring this agreement to a successful conclusion. there are a number of discussions, i know, a number of skeptical remarks. it needs to be overcome. look at the many partners all over the world that have bilateral trade agreements. it's simply necessary. looking at the intensity of a trans atlantic partnership and closeness for us to have this transatlantic trade agreement and we're fully at one on this

agreement. we have significant talks and we'll build on this over lunch. thar thank you very much forgiving me this opportunity and grace hospitality. >> we'll take two questions from the u.s. press and two questions from the german press. we'll start with leslie clark. >> thank you, mr. president. with violence today in ukraine, you've said today that germany and the united states are united in efforts to deescalate. have you been able to reach any common ground with the chancellor on sectoral sanctions, particularly the russian energy sector? what's next if you're unable to and to chancellor merkel, reports in the u.s. press suggested that you've said you believed president putin may not be in touch with reality. is that what you said? is that what you believe? could you give us -- you talked to him earlier this week. could you give us more insight into what he might be thinking? do you believe he's a threat to europe. thank you. >> obviously every day we're

watching events in eastern ukraine and southern ukraine with deep concern. and i think that what you've seen over the dours of the last several months in the midst of this crisis is remarkable unity between the united states and the european union in the response. we have at the same time offered a diplomatic approach that could resolve this issue. we have been unified in supporting the ukrainian government in kiev, both economically diplomatically and politically and we have said we would apply cost and consequences to the russians if they continued with their actions. that's exactly what we've done. and you saw just over the course of the last week additional sanctions applied both by the europeans and u.s.

the next step is going to be a broader base sectoral sanctions regime. and what we have said is that we want to continue to keep open the possibility of resolving the issue diplomatically. but as angela merkel said, if in fact we see the disruptions and the destabilization -- destabilization continuing so severely that it impedes elections on may 25th, we will not have a choice but to move forward with additional more severe sanctions. and the consultations have been taking place over the course of the last several weeks about what exactly those would look like and apply to a range of sectors. the goal is not to punish russia. the goal is to give them an incentive to choose the better course. and that is to resolve the

issues diplomatically. and i think we are united on that front. within europe, within the eu, i'm sure there has to be extensive consultations. you've got 28 countries and some are more vulnerable than others to potential russian retaliation and we have to take those into account. not every country will be in exactly the same place. but what has been remarkable is the agree to which all countries agreed that russia violated international law and violated territorial sovereignty of a country in europe and i think there's u.n. nimty that there has to be consequences for that. how we structure the sectoral sanctions, the experts have been working on and we anticipate that if we have to use them, we can. our preference would be not to have to use them. and i thank chancellor merkel saes leadership on this front. she has been extraordinarily

helpful not only in facilitating european unity but also very important in helping to shape a possible diplomatic resolution and reaching out to the russians to encourage them to take the door while it's still open. >> keep in mind when it comes to sectoral sanctions we're looking at the whole range of issues. energy flows from russia to europe, those continue to even in the midst of the cold war at the height of the cold war. so the idea that you're going to turn off the tap on all russian oil or natural gas exports, i think is unrealistic. but there are a range of

approaches that can be taken not only in the energy sector but in the arms sector and finance sector, in terms of lines of credit for trade, all that have a significant impact on russia. i don't think it's appropriate for us to delve into the details at this stage because our hope is that we don't have to deploy them. but what i can say is that our exports at the highest level, not just bilaterally but multilaterally through the european commission and our diplomatic teams have been working through all of the possibilities and we're confident that we will have a package that will further impact russia's growth and economy but again our hope is that we shouldn't have to use them. we're not interested in punishing the russian people. we think mr. putin and lead areship circle are taking bad

decisions and unnecessary decisions and he needs to be dissuaded from his current course. >> translator: it is i think obvious to all that there are very different assessments on what happens in ukraine. on the one hand you have the united states and europe. we've always taken our decisions together. on the other hand the russian appreciation and apraisal of the situation. i hope that russia will live up better in the future to its responsibilities. but we need to see deeds matched -- matching their words. we don't have any release of the hostages of the osce, among them four german hostages. this needs to happen first. we have not seen any implementation of the geneva agreement by the russian side. ukrainian side has taken some

steps in the right direction and osce too is an organization to which we wish to accord greater roles so they can prepare and pave the way for elections and one word on sanctions. i agree with the american president, they are not an end in itself but combined with the offer that we want diplomatic solutions, it is a very necessary second component to show that we're serious -- we're serious about our principles and there's a broad base -- a broad range of possibilities and that are being prepared for in the european union. in europe we have taken a decision that should further destabilization happen, we will move to a third stage of sanctions. i would like to underline, this is not necessarily what we want but we're ready and prepared to go such a step. my main aim would be first and foremost to improve stabilization and to see to it that the elections can happen

there. we'll work on this in the next few days but we're also prepared to take further steps. what we're talking about will be sectoral measures in the context of certain branches of industry and american president and i can only agree to this as said what is necessary as regards dependency on gas, which is very strong in europe. we can also look ahead in the medium term and in order to promote an energy union in the european union. looking at againcies on russian gas supplies, there are six countries right now in the eu that depend 100% on gas supplies. we need to improve the reverse flow as we call it and improve our pipe lines and all of countries need to share supplies and those are measures that we currently are discussing in europe. we're talking about short term but also medium term and long-tefrm measures and free

trade agreement is also gaining more prominence in this respect. sorry -- madam chancellor, you said that time is of the essence and that it's getting shorter leading up to the 25th. when would be the time you would say a third phase move into a third phase of sanctions is what you would promote and more energy intensive initiative for example on heads of state of government level and president, can you understand the fact that also mr. putin needs to play a role in this, which is the position of the european union. and his arguments have to be weighed after the chancellor making several phone calls with mr. putin, do you think the chancellor stands a chance to work on this? >> translator: as for the question what about the next few days to come, i think the

meeting of foreign ministers is going to plal a very important role. one can sound out what possibilities there are in various directions. we from the german side as we have agreed with our american friends will do everything we can in order to bring into a situation -- supported politically, that is, to do what is necessary in order to bring matters forward in ukraine. on the one hand you have osce monitors for the elections and change of the constitution, reform towards further decentralizati decentralization, all of the different country parts at the same level and we want to give him the necessary political backing. when a certain point in time is there is very difficult to predict. for me the elections on the 25th of may are crucial.

and should there be further attempts at zee stabilization, this will be getting more and more difficult. but for now i'm working for elections to take place on that very date and heads of state and government are ready at any time should that prove necessary to meet. we've approved that over the past -- in other areas, for example, the euro crisis we'll demonstrate this resolve yet again. i'm firmly convinced that the united states of america and the european union need to act in concert here and they have done so in the past and going to continue to do so. >> i've said from the start that russia has legitimate interests in terms of what happens next door in ukraine. obviously there's a deep and complicated history between russia and ukraine. and so, of course, mr. putin's views should be taken into

account. what can't be taken into account is mr. putin's suggestion both through words and actions that he has the right to violate the territorial integrity and dictate the economic policies or foreign policy of a sovereign country. that's not acceptable. our view from the start has been that the ukrainians should be able to make their own decisions. and i'm very confident that if ukrainians are allowed to make their own decisions, they will choose to have a good relationship with russia, as well as a good relationship with europe. that they'll want to trade with russia and want to trade with europe. but what they cannot accept understandably is the notion that they are simply a

appendage, an extension of russia, and that the kremlin has veto power over decisions made by a duly elected government in kiev. if in fact mr. putin's goal is to allow ukrainians to make their own decisions, then he is free to offer up his opinions about what he would like the relationship to be between ukraine and russia and i suspect that there will be a whole lot of ukrainian leaders who will take those views into consideration. but it can't be done at the barrel of a gun. it can't be done by sending masked gunmen to occupy buildings or to intimidate journalists. and one of the biggest concerns we've seen is the russian propaganda that has been blasted out nonstop suggesting somehow

that the ukrainian government is responsible for the problems in eastern ukraine. the ukrainian government has shown remarkable restraint throughout this process. the notion that this is some spontaneous uprising in eastern ukraine is belied by all of the evidence of well organized, trained, armed militias with the capacity to shoot down helicopters. generally local pro testers don't possess that capacity of surface to air missiles or whatever methods we use to shoot down helicopters tragically. we've seen the attempts of osce monitors who were approved not just by europe or the united states but also by russia being detained and somehow russia is suggesting that kiev is

responsible for that? we've heard mr. putin say, well, kiev has to do a better job of reaching out to eastern europe or eastern ukraine. you've seen a tempts by kiev in a very serious way to propose decentralization of power. and to provide for local elections. and for them to offer amnesty to those who have already taken over the buildings. none of that has been acknowledged by mr. putin or various russian malfeasance out there. you've seen somehow americans are responsible for meddling inside ukraine. i have to say, that our only interest is to for ukraine to be able to make its own decisions. and the last thing we want is

disorder and chaos in the center of europe. so you know, for the german audience who perhaps is tuning in to russian tv, i would just advise to stay focused on the facts and what's happened on the ground. a few weeks ago mr. putin was still denying that the russian military was even involved in crimea. then a few weeks later acknowledged, yeah, i guess that was our guys. and so there just has not been the kind of honesty and credibility about the situation there and a willingness to engage seriously in resolving these diplomatic issues. our hope is that in fact mr. putin recognizes there's a way for him to have good relations with ukraine and good relations with europe and good relations with the united states. but it cannot be done through

the kinds of intimidation and coercion that we're seeing take place right now in eastern europe. tanghi. >> thank you, mr. president. earlier in week, in what critics have called an inhumane manner because of a seemingly botched execution, human rights group put the united states in the dubious company of china and iran and saudi arabia, some countries have expressed their concerns as well. what are your thoughts on this? does this raise moral questions about u.s. justice and reputation and to chancellor merkel, after edward snowden's revelations on u.s. surveillance of your own cell phone, you said that france should -- are you satisfied steps taken by u.s. by

nsa surveillance are now to personal trust been rebuilt? i was wondering if you could elaborate on this no-spy agreement that couldn't be reached. thank you. >> what happened in oklahoma is deeply troubling. the individual who was subject to the death penalty had committed heinous crimes, terrible crimes. and i've said in the past there are certain circumstances in which a crime is so terrible that the application of the death penalty may be appropriate, mass killings, the killings of children. but i've also said that in the application of the death penalty

in this country we have seen a significant problems, racial bias, uneven application of the death penalty. situations in which there were individuals on death row who later on were discovered to have been innocent because of exkul pa tri evidence. all of these i think do raise significant questions about how the death penalty is being applied. and this situation in oklahoma i think just highlights some of the significant problems there. so i'll be discussing with eric holder and others, you know, to get me an analysis of what steps have been taken not just in this particular instance but more broadly, in this area. i think we do have to as a

society ask ourselves some difficult and profound questions around these issues. if you don't mind, i'm going to also go ahead and maybe say something about nsa just because i know it's of great interest in the german press as well. germany is one of our closest allies and closest friends. and that's true across the spectrum of issues, security, intelligence, economic, diplomatic, and angela merkel is one of my closest friends on the world stage and somebody who -- who is partnership i deeply value. and so it has pained me to say the degree to which the snowden disclosures have created strains in the relationship. but more broadly, i've also been convinced for a very long time

that it is important for our legal structures and policy structures to catch up with rapidly advancing technologies. and as a consequence through a series of steps, what we try to do is reform what we do. and have taken these issues very seriously. domestically we try to provide additional assurances to the american people that their privacy is protected. but what i've also done is taken the unprecedented step of ordering our intelligence communities to take the privacy interests of nonu.s. persons into account in everything that they do. something that's not been done before and most other countries in the world do not do. what i've said is that the privacy interest of nonu.s.

citizens are deeply relevant and have to be taken into account. and we have to have policies and procedures to protect them, not just u.s. persons. we're in the process of i am plimting a whole series of those steps. we have shared with the germans the things that we are doing. i will repeat what i've said before, that ordinary germans are not subject to continual surveillance and not subject to a whole range of bulk data gathering. i know that the perceptions i think among the public sometimes are that the united states has capacities similar to what you see on movies and in television. the truth of the matter is our focus is principlely and primarily on how do we make sure that terrorists, those who want

to pro live rate weapons are not able to engage in activities they are engaging in. in that we can only be successful for partnering with friends like germany, we won't succeed if we're doing that on our own. so what i've pledged to chancellor merkel has been in addition to the reforms we've already taken. in addition to saying that we're going to apply privacy standards to how we deal with nonu.s. persons as well as u.s. persons and in addition to the work we're doing to constrain the potential use of bulk data. we are committed to a u.s./german cyber dialogue to close further the gaps that may exist in terms of how we pray, how german intelligence operates to make sure there's transparency and clarity about

what we're doing and what our goals and intentions are. these are complicated issues and we're not perfectly aligned yet. but we share the same values and share the same concerns. this is something that is deeply important to me and i'm absolutely committed that by the time i leave this office, we're going to have a stronger legal footing and international framework for how we're doing business in the intelligence sphere. i will say though, that i don't think that there's an inevitable contradiction between our security and safety and our privacy. the one thing that i've tried to share with chancellor merkel is that the united states historically has been concerned about privacy. it's embedded in our constitution and as the world's

oldest continual democracy, we know a little bit about trying to protect people's privacy. and we have a technology that is moving rapidly and we have a very challenging world that we have to deal with and we've got to adjust our legal frameworks but he should not doubt and german people should not doubt how seriously we take these issues and i believe we'll get them resoflds to the satisfaction, not just of our two countries but of people around the world. >> translator: under the present conditions, we have possibilities as regards differences of opinion to overcome those differences in the medium term and in the long term. one possibility is to enter into such a cyber dialogue which is very important because that gives us a forum to have somewhat longer discussions as to where we stand individually, what the technical possibilities

and also ramifications of our technological advances are. there are two strands of negotiations, on the one hand the safe harbor agreement and the data protection accord. in the kourgs of the negotiations it would come out clearly what differences of opinion there are and different perspectives there are. it's of prime importance to bring the negotiations forward, the process and also bring to it to a successful conclusion. i heard this this morning when i had a breakfast meeting with people who are very closely in contact with the parliaments. they suggested to me that our par limits ought to have closer contact. also for the broader public and these could be three possibilities as to how to address this further. and also understand each other's motivations and arguments

better. >> possible to agree on a no-spy agreement, which was as we understood proposed by the u.s. government last summer, what kind of assurances could you give chancellor merkel with regard not only to ordinary german citizens but government members, some sitting here that they are not under u.s. surveillance anymore. >> translator: chancellor, the question to you, when the french president was here a few weeks ago after his talk with president obama, he said trust as regards the nsa discussion has been rebuilt. can you say the same thing? >> it's not quite accurate to say that the u.s. government offered a no-spy agreement and then withdrew it. i think that what is accurate to say is that we do not have a

blanket no-spy agreement with any country, with any of our closest partners. what we do have are series of partnerships and procedures and processes that are built up between the various intelligence agencies and what we're doing with the ger manz as we do with the french or british or canadians or anybody, is to work through what exactly the rules are governing the relationship between each country. and make sure that there are no misunderstandings. and i think we have gone along way in closing some of the gaps. but as chancellor merkel said, there are still some gaps that need to be worked through. but, i think what we can be confident about is that the

basic approach that we take with germany is similar to the approach we take with all of our allies and all of our friends. and that during the course of the last several years as technology advanced, i think there was a danger in which traditional expectations tipped over because of new technologies and what we've tried to do is make sure the policies now reflect increased capabilities and as a consequence increased dangers of intrusion in privacy. but let me put it this way, our interest in working effectively with the germans and to making sure that german governments as well as the german people feel confident about what we do, is as important to us as any other country. you know, germany is at the top of our list in terms of friends and allies and colleagues.

so we're not holding back from doing something with germany that we somehow do with somebody else. >> translator: we have a few difficulties to overcome, there's going to be cyber dialogue between our two countries and also why there needs to be and will have to be more as business than usual. looking at the discussion not only in the german parliament but among members of the ger mab government and public, we need to do that. it's very good we have taken the first steps and what is still dividing us, for example issues of proportionality and the like will be addressed and it's going to be on the agenda for the next few weeks to come. >> thank you very much,

everybody. >> as you can see they completed the news conference indicating that more sanctions will be forthcoming against russia on ukraine and particularly in russia interfears and does not permit the free elections to be held in ukraine, the elections to elect a permanent kiev government on may 25th, another trip wire has been if russia moves its troops. particular concern over the continued holding of osce monitors, european election and military monitors who are german. angela merkel personally called putin to get them release and they have not been released. another big issue, the nsa spying and that clearly has not been resolved. kristin welker is still on the north lawn. this is a big issue between the u.s. and merkel and the president tried to smooth it over but merkel made it clear there is no agreement yet. >> reporter: that's right, she

made it clear over and over again that -- when you said big issue of disagreement, you're talking about the sectoral sanctions i want to make sure -- >> no, i'm saying big disagreement over nsa spying. >> reporter: yes, that is another big issue. what was interesting that came out of that dialogue was the fact that you heard angela merkel saying over and over again there are big differences that remain. the two countries have agreed to cyber dialogue moving forward, that that is how they are going to smooth out these deep differences. >> chris cillizza, it's clear that merkel is the most important partner in relations with putin but there's still a divide and a lot of that news conference was directed at the domestic audience, at the german audience. highly critical of the united states and very concerned about their economy suffering and energy supplies and nsa spying. >> i actually think an interesting diplomatic dance with angela merkel as you point

out making quite clear that no, everything isn't fine as it relates to nsa and spying on foreign leaders and president obama going out of his way, particularly at the end to say, we're the best of best friends with germany. i believe his language is they are at the top of our list of friends. it's interesting, i'm not sure that necessarily is exactly perfect for what angela merkel is trying to do in germany. i think she does need some level of distance so it's not seem as though she is simply doing the bidding of a united states who unbeknownst to her was spying. i think it's so complicated and difficult here. the one thing that did seem to be a relatively united front was focusing on the may 25th ukrainian election as a key moment on whether to proceed further or stay where we are in terms of sanctions. >> exactly. unless bob shrum something happens before then which would

be a military move by the troops. it strikes me that merkel is such an important partner for this president and been a buffer and go-between for barack obama with vladimir putin. >> that's right. one of the things that should be noted when the president said, well, we're talking about additional sectoral sanctions but not oil and gas, because i think that was critical for germany and much of western europe because frankly they would grind to halt. their economies would grind to a halt without that oil and gas. that's part of the difficulty of the situation we're in. >> some of the eu countries are 100% dependent, energy dependent on gas which is -- that comes through ukraine from russia. the other thing is merkel and europeans wanted progress on the trade deals. she's going to speak to the chamber of commerce. in an election year there's no way this prtd will get fast track authority through a republican house from this congress and even some democrats

in the congress in red states and industrial midwest. >> the president would have probably as much trouble with the republican house as he would with the democratic senate when it comes to getting fast track authority for trade deals. this is something that labor doesn't like and the business side, tea party side of the republican party don't want to give additional authority to the president. and enshrine it in the white house for years to come. that trade deal is stalled. it's interesting it was the administration that urged merkel to discuss this when she goes to the chamber. so they are trying to put some juice behind it but it's a very difficult climb. and it's highly unlikely that it will pass. but i do agree with bob. i think one of the minor secondary headlines to come out of this was when the president said we're looking at all sectors. he mentioned banks and arms and mentioned trade and he let

energy off the hook. >> that is probably the big news for industrial people watching it because of the heavy lobbying we've seen. we've got to go. thank you very much. jeanne cummings and chris cillizza and kristen welker. is that does it for us a busy edition with the president and angela merkel. follow the show online and on facebook and twitter. "ronan farrow daily" is next. o. if you have a business idea, we have a personalized legal solution that's right for you. with easy step-by-step guidance, we're here to help you turn your dream into a reality. start your business today with legalzoom. we're here to help you turn your dream into a reality. ♪ (woman) this place has got really good chocolate shakes. (growls) (man) that's a good look for you. (woman) that was fun. (man) yeah. (man) let me help you out with the.. (woman)...oh no, i got it. (man) you sure? (woman) just pop the trunk.

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whole lot of news breaking and it's all about jobs. president obama met with angela merkel about the difficult job of bringing peace to ukraine. a new jobs report said there are far more in america than their used to be and republican donors are considering who to support for the biggest job in the land. president stiviano, maybe not. >> lindsay graham is calling the white house a name that you

don't hear from a grown up senator. >> this is two years ago, we're still talking about -- >> dude, tgs the thing that everybody is talking about. >> happening right now at the white house, the arrival of german chancellor angela merkel and the focus will be the crisis in ukraine. >> ukraine launched the strongest attack on pro-russian militias and russian forces reported with surface to air missiles. >> the effort to remove donald sterling from the nba is under way. a committee voted unanimously to expedite the process. >> residents forced to evacuate after a street collapsing in baltimore city are told it may be a month beforen they are allowed to return. >> oh, my god! [ screaming ]